Rules for Ex-Parte Child Custody Hearings in Los Angeles

The courts for the city of Los Angeles do not have any jurisdiction on questions of child custody. However, as a part of the California legal system, the courts of Los Angeles county can, under certain circumstances, make decisions on the custody of your children even in your absence. Called Ex Parte decisions, these rulings rarely decide the custody of a fit parent, but they may affect the custody rights of any parent either living in California or with a co-parent living there.

Ex Parte Decisions on Custody

A state court in Los Angeles can award custody, ex parte, but only under unusual circumstances such as domestic violence, the sexual abuse of one or more children or the high probability of the defendant's departure from California. A state court can also award temporary custody ex parte for 20 days in the absence of the defendant, a pre-existing agreement to the contrary or an objection by any party present at the hearing. Furthermore, it can repeatedly renew that custody, but on each occasion it must also set a hearing date for an inquiry into the matter and an order to the party or parties absent to appear at that date and time to provide information to the court.

Ex Parte Decisions Affecting Custody

In order to prevent the physical or sexual abuse of a member of a household, the court can issue an ex parte restraining order to prevent contact from the supposed assailant even through the mail or a second party. This can, however, restrict the rights of someone with either physical or legal custody of a child. Physical custody is the right to have the child present with you at specified dates and times, and such a ruling would obviously prevent that. Legal custody, however, is the right to make decisions about a child's life, and such an ex parte order would also make gathering of information about the child and the statement of any decision about the child illegal.

Ex Parte Decisions Affecting Decisions on Custody

The courts of California can issue any orders, presumably including ex parte restraining orders, to uphold existing custody agreements, even those of other states. The court can also, however, change your child's county of residence, and therefore the court system with jurisdiction over your child upon receiving and ex parte request from that county's child support service. This, then, is a two-edged sword. It does give you the means to enforce your custody rights, even in your absence, but it may give your child's other parent the ability to influence custody beyond normal bargaining and court action by moving jurisdiction to another court.

In Conclusion

California can exercise ex parte jurisdiction over the custody rights of a parent, but in each case that parent has at least some means to challenge the state's assertion of that jurisdiction. In each ex parte ruling, the intent is the safety of the child, and the enforcement of reasonable expectations of the court such as the having both parties to a dispute present during the hearing of that dispute.

References

• California Code: Family Codes: 3060-3064
• California Code: Family Codes: 6320-6327
• Cornell University Law School: Legal Information Institute: Physical Custody
• University of North Carolina: Child Custody Law for School Personell: Frequently Asked Questions
• California Code: Family Code: 4975-5005
• California Code: Family Codes: 3441-3457

Resources

• U.S. Department of Justice: The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Ace